


The After Effects

by islashlove



Category: Diagnosis Murder
Genre: M/M, Male Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-09
Updated: 2014-01-16
Packaged: 2017-12-22 22:01:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/918533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/islashlove/pseuds/islashlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just after Steve and Jesse admit to having feelings for each other, Jesse is kidnapped. Can Steve and the rest of the gang find Jesse in time, or will his unseen captor win. This is a tag to the episode 'Alienated'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jesse Finds Out

Steve leaned against the railing at the beach house. He was enjoying the cool ocean breezes on his face and the view before him. The view was the one and only Dr Jesse Travis. Steve watched Jesse surf the waves as they crashed onto the beach, wiping out on the latest one and wished with all his heart he could out here with him. Normally, he would be out there with Jesse, mucking around and bumping in to him. But right now, right at this moment, he felt he had no right to.

As Jesse emerged from the surf, Steve could not take his eyes off him. Jesse was not wearing his usual wet suit; instead he was in a skimpy pair of swimming shorts and no shirt. As the water ran down his bare chest, Steve couldn't stop the way his body was reacting to the sight before him.

Suddenly the words that have kept him from being anywhere near Jesse entered his head and he flinched as his heart started to ache again, and he remembered that day.

“Jesse, where were you, how did you get to Utah?” Steve asked him

“Utah?”

“Jesse, what was the last thing you remember?”

“You left me.”

Those words had stopped Steve in his tracks as they wheeled Jesse away.

They were simple words to answer a simple question. But it hit Steve right in the heart. He had never thought of himself as being gay, but since that day, he had taken a hard look at his relationship with Jesse and at himself as a whole. He had always known he loved Jesse, but he always thought it to be more like brotherly love. But not so anymore!

For years Steve was embarrassed by some of the erotic dreams he had of Jesse, but thought nothing of them. Then after that day, after those words were uttered, Steve couldn't be near Jesse without the words echoing around his head. His chest would hurt and he would feel sick, and when the feelings started to affect his work, Steve sought out professional help. It was this person who suggested that Steve might be in love with Jesse, his feelings more than brotherly love, and that is why those words hurt so much.

Steve was so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed that Jesse had walked back up to the house and was standing on the deck with him. Jesse stood there for a few minutes looking at Steve. He was still wondering what he had done to upset Steve so much that he didn’t want to hang around him anymore. At first he though Steve was just giving him the space he needed to recover from his ordeal of being drugged and sent near mad by that company, but even as he got better Steve kept his distance.

Mark said that Steve blamed himself for what happened to Jesse, and that he felt that he had failed him. But Jesse had told Steve that he wasn't at fault, and thought he had gotten through to him. But he couldn't help but notice that Steve flinched whenever he touched him.

“Steve...” Jesse said with a low voice. When he didn’t get a response he called his name a bit louder. “Steve?”

Steve turned his head to look at him but he had a blank look on his face. A moment of recognition appeared on Steve’s face, quickly replaced with a flinch as Jesse touched his arm.

“Jesse, I thought you were...” Steve looked back toward the beach; to last spot he had seen Jesse when he came out of the water.

“Yeah, I was, but I’ve got to get to work soon. Is Mark back yet?”

“Dad...?” Steve said looking back at Jesse.

“Yes, your father. My car is in the garage and Mark said he'd give me a lift back to the hospital.”

Steve couldn't help let his eyes wonder over Jesse firm chest. He swallowed hard as the words returned again.

'You left me.'

This time the reaction was physical and Steve bolted for the bathroom. After bring up his breakfast, he went back out to face a concerned Jesse.

“You ok, Steve?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just...” Steve then quickly changed the topic. “Dad's already left. I'll give you a lift if you want.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I need to go into town anyway.”

“Ok, I’ll go and get changed. Just be a minute.” Jesse headed up to the guest bathroom. 

Steve watched him go and then went back to the deck to make a call. What he didn't know was that Jesse had come back down to grab a drink.

“Hello, Dr. John.”

Jesse had heard Steve use the hospital counsellor’s name and was wondering why he was calling him.

“Yeah, it's me, Steve Sloan.”

“---”

“I was wondering if you could see me today.”

“----”

“No, that time sounds good; I’m on my way in now anyway, and, Doc... I think you’re right. I am in love with Jesse, and I need help, badly.”

“---”

“Ok, see you soon, bye.”

After hearing this, Jesse headed back upstairs to get ready, his head spinning from what he had just heard. As he came back down, he saw Steve sitting on the back of the couch, with his keys in hand, waiting.

“You took your time,” Steve said with a little bite to his words.

“Sorry, I...”

“Let’s just get going. I've got an appointment to get to,” Steve snapped.

With that, Steve got up and headed out the door as quickly as he could, so he didn’t see the hurt on Jesse face that he had caused by his words. Jesse just followed. They got into Steve’s truck and he started to drive off. They drove in silence for a while, than about half way in Jesse broke the silence between them.

“How long Steve?” Jesse asked without looking at Steve.

“Sorry Jesse?” Steve said, giving Jesse a sidewards glance.

“How long have you been in love with me?” Jesse whispered

Steve slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. He sat there, his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles had gone white. Jesse was scared, he had never seen this look on Steve before, and he wasn't too sure what the look meant.

“What did you say?” Steve said slowly and through clenched teeth.

“I asked you, how long have you been in love with me. I overheard your conversation to Dr. John.”

“Jesse, I’m sorry. I've tried to fight how I felt about you, but I just didn't want to lose you; to lose our friendship if you found out and I just want to say I’m sorry. I didn't mean it to happen, but when you said that I left you...” Steve shivered as he said these words. “I felt my heart tightened and I...”

“It's ok, Steve. It's ok.”

“No, it's not, I’ve let how I feel about you get in the way of our friendship and I, I can't even be around you without getting a hard on or sick and...”

Steve was cut off as Jesse pulled him around and kissed him. The kiss started off slow as they both tried to find the right position for their lips and hands to go. But once that was sorted the kiss intensified. It was filled with heat and passion. Then Jesse’s tongue asked for entry and once Steve allowed it in, he lost himself completely.

When the two finely broke apart for air, they just rested their heads onto the others. Their breathing was fast and shallow, and their hearts were beating fast.

“Jesse?” Steve panted.

“Yes?” 

“I love you, Jesse, so much, it hurts. I'm so sorry, so sorry I failed to protect you. That I...”

“Steve, you didn't fail me, and I love you, too. We need to talk about this, but I’ve got to get to work now, so how about dinner tonight?”

“A date, are you asking me out on a date?”

“Yes, Detective Steve Sloan, I'm asking you out on a date.”

“What time do I pick you up?”

“My place, at six” With that Jesse kissed Steve again. 

They drove to the hospital, too lost in their own thoughts to talk. Once there, they kissed once again before getting out of the truck and then headed off towards different lifts. As Steve’s door closed Jesse had just reached his. But Jesse never got in, as a hand with a cloth wrapped itself around his mouth and nose. Jesse tried to fight, but the blackness was too strong and it pulled him under.


	2. Where is Jesse?

Jesse's head hurt and it hurt badly. The only other thing he knew was that he was cold, wet and hungry. When he tried to lift his head up off the ground, the pounding inside just got worse, so he lay back down on the cold hard floor and the noise in his head eased. The effect of moving just seemed to make him tired. At first he fought the urge to sleep, but then he worked out that if he was asleep then the pain would go away. So reluctantly he allowed the darkness take over.

***************************************************************************

A door opened and Steve walked out.

"Well, Detective Sloan, I'm glad you and Dr. Travis have started to work things out." 

"We haven't quite worked it out completely, yet, but we both know how we feel about each other now and that's a start at least."

"Yes, it is and if you still feel you need to talk about anything, just call."

"Thank you, Dr. John and I will. Goodbye."

Steve headed down the hallway; his head was full of thoughts. He now knew that Jesse loved him and now those few words, 'you left me' meant so much more than before. But he also knew that Jesse was the one for him, the one he was willing to lose everything for. And what he meant by everything was his job, his friends and even his dad, if no one wanted to accept their relationship. But before he told anyone else about them, he would first need to talk to Jesse, and that wasn't going to be til tonight. 

Steve decided to visit his dad. He knew that Mark didn't have any classes to run or surgery to do today, so he knew that he should be in his office catching up on paper work. Steve wasn't too surprised when he didn't find his dad there though; after all, there was still the doctor's lounge, the morgue and the cafeteria to check. But as he started to head off, he overheard two nurses talking about a huge car pile-up and the ER was overrun with accident victims. Now he knew where to find his dad.

***************************************************************************

Jesse once again came to. His head still hurt, but it wasn't as bad as before, which allowed him to be able to sit up and open his eyes. But when he did he wished he hadn't. He was in a dim, dirty room that had a very high ceiling. On three of the walls there was a door and on each door there was a word. 

The first one read, BODIES, the second, TOILET and the last was EXIT. He had also noticed that on the forth wall there was a built in telecom system. Just as he started to head towards the door with the exit on it, the intercom came to life.

"Dr. Travis, Dr. Jesse Travis. Welcome to the last place you will ever see.”

***************************************************************************

As Steve entered the ER, all he could see was mayhem. The injured were everywhere, some were laying on gurneys, and others who weren't as bad were sitting in chairs or just standing around. It took Steve ten minutes to see his dad, another five before he spied Amanda with another patient, but for the life of him he couldn't see Jesse anywhere. 

After about two hours, the ER was finely back, in an orderly manor. Steve had helped out the best he could with the patients and family members who had gotten a little hot under the collar. Steve had just finished with one of the incidents, when he noticed his dad storming away from the ER. Steve did the only thing he could, he gave chase. 

As Steve walked into his dad's office, he saw Amanda standing there, a worried look was on her face. Steve was just about to ask her what was going on, when Mark slammed down the phone. What Mark said next made Steve’s heart drop into his stomach.

"Damn it, Jesse, where the hell, are you?"

***************************************************************************

"Who are you?" Jesse bravely asked.

"I’m the last voice you are ever going to hear," the chilling replied

"Where am I? What do you want from me?” Jesse yelled, but he couldn't keep the fear from his voice.

"I only want one thing," the voice said. "I only want to watch you go mad and die." The words were followed by a mad laughter that froze Jesse to the core. "As you see, Dr. Travis, I have given you fair warning of what is behind the doors. The toilet door is as it says. The bodies’ door has your predecessors behind it and the last one; has hope."

"Hope?" Jesse queried

"Yes, hope. For if you go mad first, I will let you go, otherwise, you will die here."

"You're not going to let me go, no matter what."

"And what makes you say that, Dr. Travis?"

"You're first words to me, was that, this was going to be the last place I was going to see. But you're wrong about that."

"Wrong, what have I gotten wrong, Dr. Travis?"

"That this," Jesse said as he swang his arms around the room, "is going to be the last place I’m ever going to see." 

"Oh, and what makes you think you are any different from all the others?"

"Because, I’m friends with Detective Steve Sloan and I know he won't stop until he finds me." 

"We will see, Dr. Travis. We will see."

***************************************************************************

"Dad, what's wrong?"

"Oh, hi Steve; Steve have you seen Jesse today?"

"Yes, I have. You forgot to give him a lift back in from the house. So I brought him in to work, that was about, two, maybe even two and half hour ago. Why?"

"And you dropped him off here at the hospital?"

"Yes, Dad," Steve said, rolling his eyes. "I dropped Jesse off here, at the hospital, why?"

"Because Jesse never made it too work, Steve."


	3. The Search Begins.

Steve stood there staring at his father, the words echoing around in his head. He could see his dad getting up and walking over to him, but whatever he was saying, was lost as Steve blacked out.

 

After waiting fifteen minutes, Jesse realised that the voice wasn’t going to respond anymore and he started to look around. Of course, Jesse tried the ‘EXIT’ door, but it didn’t budge. Next was the ‘TOILET’ door and this was just what it said. Last but not least was the ‘BODIES’ door; Jesse braced himself before entering. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door; but once the stench of death and rotting flesh hit him, he couldn’t proceed. Pushing the door closed, Jesse made a mad dash for the toilet.

 

Steve slowly came around and as he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find two very worried faces looking at him. 

“What happened?”

“You fainted, Steve,” supplied Amanda

“Fainted? Why did, I...” Steve words trailed off as he remembered. “Oh, dear lord, Jesse, oh god, no!”

As soon as Mark realised, that Steve was going to get up, he placed a firm but gentle hand onto his shoulder.

“Easy there, Steve. Now, Steve, you know Detective Trip don’t you?” his father asked.

“Yes,” Steve replied, as he suspiciously eyed the Detective. Looking at his dad, he spoke again. “Dad, why is he here?”

“I’m here Steve, because you are too close to the victim to be of any help trying to find him.” The rough voice of the Detective came through. “And...” he said lowering his head slightly, so he could look at his hands. Taking a deep breath he continued. “And I have been working on this case for the last ten years.”

“What case?” Steve asked

“I have been following a bunch of unsolved missing person’s cases for the last ten years. The number is now starting to reach towards the two hundred mark. But no one has been listening to me, that the common dominator in all the cases is Community General Hospital.”

“In what way?” queried Mark

“In the way, Dr. Sloan, that all the missing people were last seen here, at the hospital, itself.”

“But with such a high number of missing and the similar location, why hasn’t it been checked out before?” asked Amanda, looking back and forth between the two Detectives. Surprisingly it is Steve who answered her.

“Because most of the missing people were homeless, and it was assumed that they had just moved on,” whispered Steve, sounding very ashamed.

“Steve, is there something you’re not telling me and Amanda?” asked Mark

“Detective Trip here had approached me about his theory in the past. We, I, just dismissed it.”

“Steve...” Mark said as he let out a disappointed sigh. “Well, what do we do now?”

“Since all my cases are, unofficially in the past, I couldn’t get to see any of the security tapes.”

“But this time we can, right?” said Mark, a gleam shining in his eyes.

“Right, Dad,” Steve replied, shaking his head.

After helping Steve off the bed, they all headed towards security, eager to see the tapes.

***************************************************************************

Jesse had been a doctor long enough to know that the smell was rotting human flesh, as compared to that of an animal. He had also been to enough crime scenes with Steve, to know this nuttier was a serial killer.

Jesse re-entered the main room, but he found the room was no longer empty. There, in the middle of the floor, lay a sleeping bag with a smaller bag next to it. Opening up the small bag, Jesse couldn’t help but laugh out loud. In the bag were some BBQ Bob’s ribs and some of the salad Jesse had convinced Steve to put on the menu. This nuttier had a weird sense of humour.

Jesse set up the sleeping bag and sat down to have something to eat. Although he was hungry, he put some aside. After all he didn’t know when this person was going to give him some more food. Once he had eaten, he lay down to try and get some more sleep. He tried hard to think about what Mark, Amanda and Steve would be doing right now; and as he drifted off to sleep, the image of Steve kissing him filled his head.

***************************************************************************

The poor guard jumped as the four people entered the small room. Detective Trip was in the lead and held out his badge for the guard to see.

“I’m Detective Trip, I would like the see your video footage from this morning please.” 

“From which part of the building and around what time, are you after?” 

Detective Trip looked back at Steve and found he wasn’t the only one. Mark and Amanda were also watching Steve, for his answer. Steve could feel everyone’s eyes on him and it was making him feel a little uncomfortable.

“Umm, it was about nine thirty, nine forty- five, on level two, about mid centre.”

“Ok,” said the guard, as he moved through the tapes that were in the shelves. “Here it is, or at least it should have what you’re looking for.” 

Detective Trip looked at the tape that had that day’s date one it, also the time eight o’clock to ten o’clock. It also had centre camera, level two.

“Thank you for this,” Detective Trip said, and he then turned to leave.

“Just a second,” Steve spoke out, “Stan do you have the same time period but near the lift heading up to the ER?”

“Sure do.” Stan held up a second tape.

Thank you, Stan,” Mark said.

“Why do I need this one?” asked Detective Trip 

“Because, that was the lift Jesse was heading to when I dropped him off.”

“Ok, well, where can we view these tapes, Dr. Sloan?”

“Just follow me, Detective Trip, just follow me.” Mark led the way out of the room and down the hallway.

***************************************************************************

Jesse woke up with a start. At first he thought he was dreaming, but then he could feel the water all around him.

“Well, Dr. Travis. Sleep well?”

“No, I didn’t. I want to know what time and day is it, and why is there water everywhere?”

“Arr..., Dr. Travis, I can’t let you just sleep like that, now can I. How am I supposed to see how you cope, without sleep, if I let you sleep?”

“And the water, which feels like it is rising?”

“Hmm, well, yes. The water, it will keep on rising until you give me something I want.”

“And what is that?”

“I want you to beg for your life.”

“No!”

“Well, if that is your answer, so be it. The water can rise to the roof and it only takes a few minutes. Once you have begged for your life, I will drain the water away.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.” By now the water had reached Jesse’s knees. What worried Jesse the most was the fact that the voice hadn’t answered him back.

Five minutes passed and the water was now at Jesse’s chest and he could tell that the voice was serious, and Jesse knew he had only one way he was going to be able to live.

“Sir, Mr. Voice, please. I’m sorry. Please, I don’t want to die. Please stop the water. Please.” Jesse could hear in his own voice the fear that had started to rise, as he begged.

Suddenly the voice came back.

“Well done, Dr. Travis. Now, that wasn’t that hard, was it.”

“No!”

“Good, I might be able to train you after all. Good night, Dr. Travis.” Jesse was all alone again. 

Jesse shivered as his exposed wet skin felt a small breeze flowing through. Jesse shuffled over to the sleeping bag and wrapped it around him, he was cold and tired. He wanted Steve to find him, to hold him, but he was starting to think this wasn’t ever going to happen.


	4. Pains and Hurt

Detective Trip, Mark, Amanda and Steve all sat around the TV in Mark’s office. Steve put in the first tape; he started to fast forward to the time when he and Jesse arrived. Just as his pick-up came into sight, Steve pressed the play button and they all watched as the pick-up pulled up, noting that Steve and Jesse sat in the vehicle for a few minutes before they climbed out.

Steve looked around, as he could feel eyes on him. Finding his dad and Amanda looking at him strangely, he knew he had to give them some kind of explanation, so he paused the tape.

“What, the...?” stuttered Detective Trip.

“Sorry, Trip. Dad, Amanda, I guess you want to know what Jesse and I were talking about right?”

“Well, Steve, you haven’t spoken more than two words to Jesse for weeks, yet you seem to be having a good conversation in your car.” 

“You’re right, Dad, I haven’t spoken to Jesse much lately. But that’s because I, I couldn’t face him. Not after what I had done. But on the way in, we sort of worked it out, which I think was your idea when you told Jesse you would drive him back in to work, but then claimed you had to come in early.”

“You’re right, Steve, I did leave early so you two would have to talk and I’m glad you have sorted it out. Now let’s find Jesse.”

And with that they went back to the tape.

***********************************************

Jesse woke up hot and sweaty; very hot and very sweaty, like he was burning up with a fever. Looking around, he could see the walls were glowing red and he walked up to touch one.

“I wouldn’t do that if I was you, Dr. Travis!” 

“Why shouldn’t I!” Jesse said his voice full of anger.

“Because it’s hot, very hot and I don’t want you to burn yourself.”

“Why, why are you doing this? First you try to drown me; leaving me freezing. Now you’re trying to give me heat stroke. Why?”

“Because, Dr. Travis, I want you to understand that I control everything involving you from now on. I control whether you are hot or cold, wet or dry. I will control your food and water intake. I will give you clothes when I think you deserve it. I might even let you hear what you friends are doing. But I own you, you are mine and I can do whatever I want to you and there is nothing you can do to stop me.”

“But, why me? What did I do that made me so special, that you want to do this to me?”

“There is nothing that made you special, Dr. Travis. You were just there when I was ready to take someone, that’s all. Now, I have turned off the heater, but it will take about an hour before it will be cool enough for you to be able to touch the walls again.”

“You’re telling me I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Jesse said, the anger growing inside of him. “That you just took me, because I was the one who was there.”

“Yes.”

“NO!” yelled Jesse as he throw himself against the burning wall. He screamed out in pain as he felt his flesh melt from the heat. The next thing he knew, he was falling backwards, as he blacked out.

****************************************************

The first tape showed Jesse and Steve heading off in opposite directions. With the angle of the camera they could see Steve getting into his lift. 

“We didn’t get much from that, did we?” Detective Trip said.

“That’s why I grabbed this tape; I was heading for a different part of the hospital than Jesse, which made us take different lifts. This tape is for the area near the lift Jesse was taking.” Just as Steve put the tape in, he grabbed his head, as a bad headache hit him. Then the words he dreaded hit him. “You left me, you left me back then and you left me again. Why, Steve, why did you leave me?”

“Steve, Steve; are you ok?” Mark’s concerned voice entered his ears. 

“Yeah, Dad, I’m...” But, Steve didn’t get to finish his words, as a bout of nausea hit him and he raced off to the toilets. 

Mark looked at Amanda with very concerned eyes. He was worried about his son, very worried. Whatever was happening between his son and Jesse was starting to cause a physical reaction with Steve. And from what he saw on the tape by the lift Steve went into, it was affecting him enough that Steve had to seek out help, himself.

Detective Trip stood there looking at the other two. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he said the only thing he could think of. “Is Detective Sloan ok, I mean he been off his...” he paused for a minute, trying to think of the right words. “Off his game, of late; he seemed to be distracted.”

“We know, Detective Trip. I mean, I know he’s been off from his usual self, but I didn’t know it was affecting his job.” 

“So, you didn’t know that Steve has been given time off?”

Mark’s head snapped up at this information, ‘Time off, Steve has been given time off, because of his behaviour.’ The thought just wouldn’t leave him alone, but he realised that Detective Trip was waiting to hear an answer. “No, I didn’t,” was all he could say, but he made a mental note to talk to Steve about it when he got the chance.

Just then Steve walked back in. He was shaking his head which he held down as if looking at the floor. When he did raise his head, Steve was pale and sickly looking, but his eyes shone with determination.

“Right, sorry about that. Now, let’s find Jesse.” Steve just sat down, the remote in his hand, ready to get started. The others joined him, but Steve could feel his father’s eyes on him.

As the second tape played, they watched as Jesse walked up to his lift and pressed the button. The doors slid open, but, just as Jesse went to step in, a figure of a man walked up behind him. Because the new person was between Jesse and the camera they couldn’t see what was going on until the man moved to the side, dragging Jesse’s unconscious form away.   
Just on the edge of the video they could see him putting Jesse into a van, but luck was on their side. As the van drove by the camera it got a good shot of the number plates.  
“Right, now, we hand this over to the chief and, with respect, Detective Trip, I hope your theory is wrong.”

“And why’s that, Detective Sloan?”

“Because, if you are right, and we haven’t been listening to you, it means we have been letting a serial killer run loose all this time.”

***************************************************

Jesse’s unconscious body lay on the floor, one of his feet still leaning against the burning hot wall. Slowly, a shadow moved across his body and a hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him away from the wall. Jesse’s captor gave him an injection for the pain and started to treat his wounds. When he was finished, the owner of the voice laid a first aid kit, some food and fresh water on the floor. He then stood up and walked towards the door that read ‘BODIES’. 

“Sleep well, Dr. Travis, sleep well.”

And with that, Jesse was again left alone in the room.


	5. A Glimmer of Hope.

Captain Newman was in Chief Masters’ office when Mark opened the door and walked straight in. Both men looked up at him with surprise; Chief Masters noticed the three other people standing just outside the door and beckoned them in.

“Can I help you, Dr. Sloan?” Chief Masters asked, as the others walked in. Steve turned and closed the door behind him.

“Chief Masters, Captain Newman, Dr. Travis has been kidnapped.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Jesse came too, he felt very groggy and his head hurt and it hurt, bad. He tried to get up, but the moment his hand touched the ground, a sharp pain shot through his body and he collapse back down in agonising pain. The pain was so intense that a few seconds later Jesse blacked out again.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Dr. Sloan, are you telling me that your Dr. Travis had gone missing, again?” queried Captain Newman.

“Yes, he has, Captain,” Steve said moving forward and placing the tapes onto the desk. “And we have proof.” 

“Proof, what type of proof?” enquired the Chief.

“I dropped Jesse off at the hospital this morning on my way to see...” Steve’s words trailed off, as he realised what he was about to say and the fact that his dad was also in the room. After looking at his dad for a moment, he continued. “What I mean is, when I went to meet the person you asked me to see. But...”

“But, Jesse never made it to work,” Mark Interrupted. “When Steve told me he had indeed dropped Jesse off, I called you and was put through to Detective Trip here. We...”

“Dad, do you mind?” Steve asked his dad, but when he turned around to tell the rest of the story, Chief Masters stopped him by holding up his hand.

“Please, will you all take a seat?” Once everyone was sitting Chief Masters continued. “Dr. Sloan, I don’t know if you knew this or not, but Detective Sloan, your son, is under suspension at the moment, while he sees a counsellor.”

“No, Chief, I didn’t,” answered Mark, looking at Steve.

“Did you know that his behaviour was becoming a danger to himself and others?”

“Again, Chief, no, but this hasn’t anything to do with Steve or his behaviour, Chief. This is to do with the fact that on those tapes it shows a man putting an unconscious Dr. Travis into a van and driving off.”

“I understand that, Dr. Sloan. I just wanted to make it clear that under no circumstances is Detective Sloan to work on this case. Not until he is cleared to return to work. Understood, Detective?” The Chief looked straight at Steve.

“I understand, Chief, Captain Newman. But with saying that, we might all be in trouble with this case.”

“And how’s that, Detective Sloan?” Captain Newman asked.

“Because, for the last ten years we have been dismissing Detective Trip’s theory about a serial killer working around the hospital. And if he is right, we have been letting this madman run free all these years.”

Chief Masters and Captain Newman looked at each other, nodded and then looked back at the waiting faces. 

“Ok, Detective Sloan, we understand your concerns,” Captain Newman answered. “Now, what do you have for us?”

They all sat around the Chief’s desk as Mark, Steve and the others let the Chief and the Captain know what they had.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sometime later Jesse came around. He was still a little groggy from the pain killer that he had been given. But he was feeling a little better. Carefully, he moved himself into a sitting position and looked at his hands. They had been bandaged, along with the rest of his burns. Looking around, he noticed the first aid kit, the food and water and something else. Something, that was so small, yet big enough to give him a glimmer of hope.

“Good, you are awake, Dr. Travis.”

“Yeah, I’m awake. Did you treat my injuries?” Jesse whispered, wanting to know how well the voice could hear.

“Yes, I did and you’re welcome. Now that was a very stupid thing to do, wasn’t it?” The voice now had an accusing tone to it.

“Yes it was, I’m sorry and thank you for treating me.” Jesse then added as an afterthought. “And thank you for the food and water.”

“Good boy, Dr. Travis. That is a very good boy. Now, why don’t you get some more sleep, while I go and get some, too?”

“Ok!” Jesse said “Sir, before you go, can I have some of the food and water now?” Jesse waited for an answer; he had chosen his words very carefully, just to see what would happen.

“Yes, Dr. Travis, you may have the food and water now. Good night.”

“Good night, Sir.” Jesse waited for a few more minutes before he moved over to the containers. 

Opening them up, he found some sandwiches and fresh water. As he sat there eating, he looked at the doors; or rather at the bases of them. He had placed a small rock he had in his pocket at each door. Now he knew that the voice had been in the room with him and the only rock moved was the one in front of the “BODIES” door. This meant that was the way out and the voice was kind enough to give him supplies for his escape.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And Chief, this is the number plate that was on the van,” Detective Trip said. “Now as we were coming in I did a check on the plates and it came back stolen. But with that said, it had been stolen about ten years ago, three weeks after what I think was this serial killer’s third victim.”

“You do know this is all circumstantial, don’t you?” Chief Masters asked.

“Yes sir, I do and with respect sir, I have been told that for the last ten years. But if I’m right, this van is being used by the kidnapper.”

Just then, Steve’s phone rang and he excused himself from the group. He noticed how close his dad was watching him, but he still kept his attention on the call.

“What...No...That is great...Thank you so much for that...Yeah, you too, bye.” When Steve turned around, all their eyes were no him. “I suppose you’re wondering who that was?”

“A little, Steve,” his dad said.

“It was Stan.”

“The security guard at the hospital?” queried Detective Trip.

“Yes. Before we left I asked him if he could let me know if a white van with that number plate returned to the hospital car park. He just rang to let me know it did.”

“What, just now Steve?” Amanda asked

“No, he said he came across it in one of his security checks of the car park. When he knew for sure it was the one I was after, he checked the tapes. The van returned about five to ten minutes after it had left the parking area; which means...”

“Which means Jesse is either still in the van or at least nearby and maybe still at the hospital,” Mark finished off.

“He has to be nearby; as Stan said it look like he took something heavy from the back of the van.”

“Ok, I’ll organise a search warrant for the hospital and van. You guys get going with some other officers. Sloan, you stay out of their way.” The Chief’s voice had a deep warning to it.

“Yes sir,” and with the others, Steve left the office.

“Jesse, we’re coming to get you. Just hold on there, buddy. I’m going to find you,” Steve thought.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jesse soaked a piece of the sleeping bag with water and covered his nose with it. Slowly walking up to the door, Jesse made sure he had a good grip on the makeshift bag he had made to carry the first aid kit, plus the water and food. Steadying himself, he pulled the door open and started to walk through it.

“I’m coming home, Steve, just wait for me and if I get lost, please, find me before he does,” Jesse prayed as he passed by the first body on the ground.


	6. Hurting

Steve drove to the hospital; no one spoke, although many questions were running through their heads. Detective Trip had gone ahead with the search warrant and a group of officers, while Steve, Mark and Amanda followed in Steve’s truck.

Mark sat on the passenger side watching his son. He was wondering what was going on with Steve and their relationship. They had always had a good connection with each other; if Steve was having a problem, he had always been able to confide in Mark. But this time Steve had locked him out; out of his problem and out of his life and there was only one question in Mark’s mind and that was, why?

Steve was starting to feel nervous with his father’s eyes on him. He knew Mark was disappointed in him and upset that he had kept him in the dark with his problems. But right now, his dad’s feelings were not Steve’s concern and he was sure in his heart, that his dad won’t want anything to do with him once he found out he was gay. But right now, his mind was only on finding Jesse. Just as that thought hit him so did the dreaded words, you left me. Steve had only just enough time to pull up and get out before he brought up the last contents of his stomach. Mark and Amanda could only look at each other with concern.

When Steve returned to the truck, he found Amanda in the driver’s seat and Mark in the back with the door opened, staring at him.

“Steve, get in here with me, we need to talk!” Marks voice was so full of concern, fear and authority that Steve didn’t even think about disobeying his dad. So he climbed in the back and shut the door and Amanda started to drive toward the hospital.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jesse’s makeshift mask was doing very little to help keep the stench of death away. As he tried to manoeuvre his way around the piles of bodies, he started to wonder, just how many bodies there actually were. Just off to his right he saw what looked like a light, so he turned to head that way. As he turned his foot got caught by something and he tripped. As he come crashing down on a very mummified body, he heard a loud crack, as the bone in his arm snapped. Crying out in pain and fear, Jesse tried his best to stop the rising need to vomit. As he lay there amongst the rotting corpses, trying to catch his breath, he could hear a noise of something moving towards him. He prayed it wasn’t the voice.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve was waiting; he was waiting for Mark to start his questioning. After all, that is what he had said to him, wasn’t it? ‘We need to talk?’ Yes, it was what Mark had said to him. Yet, he hadn’t said a thing since Amanda had started to drive. Letting out a sigh, Steve decided to get it over and done with.

“What do you want to talk about, dad?” he already knew what it was, but he was hopping it wasn’t.

“What’s going on with you, Steve?” Mark said without even looking at Steve

“What do you mean?” Steve’s voice was shaking and Mark could hear the sound of sadness in it as well.

“Ok, let’s start with you and Jesse. Why are you avoiding him?” this time Mark was watching him, watching his reaction and to see if Steve was going to lie to him.

“Jesse and me...” Steve started, but the moment he looked at his dad, he knew he couldn’t lie; he couldn’t avoid the topic anymore. Swallowing hard Steve started again. “Dad, I’m so sorry, but I’m in love with him.” The tears that Steve had been holding back started to fall.

“And that’s why you’re avoiding him?” Mark said a bit annoyed with his son.

“Yes, I love him and I didn’t really realise I loved him until today. But I have been getting help and they suggested that how I felt about Jesse could be the core of the problems I’ve been having lately.”

“Like, what problems?” Mark said with concern; concern that his once strong child, was sitting beside him at the moment, broken.

“I couldn’t concentrate on what I was doing. I was getting physically sick and I just couldn’t function properly anymore. I was at the point that, I nearly got one of my fellow officers killed the other day and when the Chief called me in to find out what was going on. I, I lost it and attacked him.”

“Steve...” Both men lurched forward when Amanda stopped the car a bit too quickly.

“Sorry, but we’re here,” Amanda said looking through the mirror to the back seat.

“It’s ok, Amanda,” Mark said as he gave her a smile. He also noticed that Steve had made a move to get out of the truck. “Just a minute, Steve,” Mark said placing a hand on his shoulder. “We haven’t finished, yet.” Mark’s voice was gentle, but strong enough that Steve stopped his movements. “Steve, why didn’t you talk to me?”

And there it was, the hurt; the hurt and disappointment, he didn’t want to hear in his dad’s voice. Steve was ashamed at what he had done; he could feel the nausea rising again. When he looked at his dad, the combination of being so tied and feeling sick all the time, had finely taken the toll on him and the answer came out in anger.

“About what, Dad?” he shouted. “The fact, that I’m a poofter. That I’m so in love with my best friend that it has affected me so much that I can’t work. That it is killing me inside, so much, that I can’t be anywhere around him; not without getting sick. That I...” the tears flowed from his eyes now, but his anger was now spent and he whispered his last words. “I left him, I left him, Dad, and he got hurt, and it was my fault and I’ve done it again to him.”

“Steve, you didn’t do it on purpose and Jesse knows that. This time and the last one, he knows it’s not your fault and you’ll need to listen to him, WHEN WE GET HIM BACK, got it, Steve,” Mark said slowly, so Steve got the message. “And as for you being gay, so what, Steve, do you really think I’ll hate you for that? I love you, Steve, and all I want for you is for you to be happy; and if Jesse is what makes you happy, then so be it.”

“You mean that, Dad?”

“Of cause I do, Steve. I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself, ok.”

“Ok, Dad.”

“Now clean yourself up, so we can go in and see if we can help find Jesse.”

“Thank you.” Steve leaned over and gave Mark a hug.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jesse lay as quietly as he could. The noise got closer and closer. It sounded as if something was being dragged across the floor. Just as it sounded as if the noise it was on top of him, it came into view. Jesse let out a sigh when he realised that it was a dog. It must have somehow gotten in to get something to eat; this thought made Jesse stomach churn a little and he let out a moan. 

Hearing this, the dog stopped and turned towards the sound, baring its teeth at Jesse and growling a low warning. Jesse raised his hands to calm the animal, but realised too late that it was the wrong thing to do. Before Jesse had a chance to react, the dog bolted forward.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Steve let go of Mark, Mark got out the truck and walked over to Amanda, who was waiting just a little ways off from them.

“Is he going to be ok, Mark?” she asked with a very concerned voice.

“I think so, Amanda, I just wish I had seen this happening. I might have been able to stop it from getting this bad.” Mark was so angry with himself for failing to see that Steve was hurting so bad.

“Mark, it’s not your fault.” Amanda said as she placed a comforting arm around Mark’s shoulder.

Mark couldn’t help but let out a little giggle at hearing his own advice being given back to him.

“What’s so funny?” Amanda said with a little giggle herself.

“You just said the same thing to me that I just said to Steve, that’s all.”

“Well, it is good advice after all,” Amanda said giving Mark a squeeze.

Just then, Steve climbed out of the truck. He looked at his dad and Amanda and he couldn’t wonder if Amanda would be as accepting of him as his dad. He walked over to them; the sadness was still showing in his eyes, but at least he did look a bit better. 

“Are you feeling better, Steve?” asked Amanda.

“A little bit, but I’ll feel a lot better when Jesse is found.”

“We all will, Steve, we all will. So let’s get going and find Jesse,” Mark said a little bit more confident then he felt.


	7. Jesse is Found

The police were all over the hospital. They searched every room starting from the roof and working their way down, leaving an officer at each entrance so no one could double back. On the first level of the car park another lot of officers were going over the white van and this is where Steve, Mark and Amanda were headed. As they approached, an officer stopped them.

“I’m sorry, Doctors, Detective, but I have orders not to let you near the van.”

Detective Trip overheard the officer and looked up from where he was, and seeing that Steve was about to pull the superior officer card, he decided to join the group.

“Look, officer...” Steve started to say.

“I’ll take over from here, officer; Detective Sloan, Dr. Sloan and Dr. Bentley,” Detective Trip said. “How can I help you?”

“You can let us...,” started Steve

“No, I can’t, Detective Sloan, you are under suspension. You’re not even supposed to be anywhere near the hospital as it is. So to be nice, I’m letting you walk away from this area and not be carried out by your fellow officers.”

“But, Jesse...”

“Steve, we’re not going to help if we interfere with their search. Come on, Son, let’s go and get something to eat,” Mark said as he gently pulled at Steve’s arm.

Steve looked at his dad; the look was as if Mark had hit him in the heart but Steve went quietly anyway.

“Dad, we just can, not look for Jesse,” Steve said as his heart breaks just a little bit more.

“Steve, we are going to look for Jesse, but it wouldn’t do you or Jesse any good if you were in jail, now would it?”

“No, Dad, and thank you,” Steve said with a little laugh. “See what I meant, Dad, I can’t think straight anymore when it comes to Jesse.”

“Don’t worry about that for now; we’ll work it all out after we find Jesse. Now, the van is here. This area is on ground floor, right?”

Although it was more of a statement than a question, Amanda answered. “Yes, Mark, it is; so?” 

“Well, if you had kidnapped someone, would you take them up into the hospital, or find somewhere closer down here?”

“Down here; there is less chance of being seen,” answered Amanda.

“Or any chance of being overheard if Jesse called out,” Steve whispered.

“Right, both of you, so where down here could he have gone?” The three of them started to look around. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jesse let out a blood curling scream as the dog’s teeth ripped into the flesh of his arm. The dog shook him violently, but because his hands were bandaged, there wasn’t much he could do. Suddenly it stopped and Jesse thought it had gone, but the next thing he knew, it was trying to get to his face and neck. Jesse knew that if it makes it to his throat he was a goner. So with the last of his strength, he put up his arms, trying his best to protect himself. Again, as the dog bit and ripped into him, Jesse kept screaming out in pain, praying that someone, anyone, would hear him.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mark, Steve and Amanda had split up to see if they could find a place that someone could use to hide Jesse in. Just as Steve was passing the access door to the sewage system, he heard a loud scream; his blood ran cold as he realised that it was Jesse. For a split second he wasn’t sure what to do, but just then there was another scream and Steve knew he had to get to Jesse now.

“He’s over here...Jesse...I can hear him screaming,” Steve yelled as he tried to open the door.

Everybody and I mean, everybody, stopped what they were doing. Detective Trip pointed at a few officers and ordered them to follow him and they all headed over to where Steve was. By the time they had arrived Mark was also with Steve. Amanda had been sent to go and get the keys.

“Detective Sloan, are you...” Detective Trip’s words were cut short when Jesse’s scream echoed through the door. “Good God,” was all he could say.

Just as Amanda returned, Jesse let out his loudest scream, then it went quiet, a very eerie quiet. Everyone stood there waiting for a noise, any noise, but there was nothing except for the sound of Steve, whispering one word, “Jesse.” He then grabbed the keys from Amanda and just as he unlocked the door and pulled it open, a single gunshot rang out.

“JESSE!”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just as Jesse’s energy and strength ran out, and the dog went in for the kill, the owner of the voice had come along. A single shot from the gun he was carrying brought the dog down in mid flight. He approached the dog and gave it a kick. Pleased that it was dead, he then turned to Jesse and kicked him.

“So, Dr. Travis, congratulations, you are the first to ever get out of the rooms; well done. I must admit, I underestimated you. Shame you’re so badly injured, but don’t worry, I won’t waste another bullet on you. You put yourself here, you can die here. Good bye, Dr. Travis.”

He turned to leave, only to come face to face with five police officers with their guns pointing straight at him.

“Put the gun down!” demanded Detective Trip

“And if I don’t?” the voice asked in a cool, calm manner.

“We will shoot. Now, put the gun down!” demanded Detective Trip again.

The voice put the gun onto the floor and kicked it over to them. As two officers put the cuffs on him, both Mark and Amanda rushed to Jesse’s side. As soon as they saw the damage, Mark looked at Steve and prayed that he wasn’t close enough to see.

“Steve, go and get help!” Mark yelled at him.

“But, Dad...Jesse, is Jesse...”

“Jesse is alive, but we need help now, so go.”

“I’ve already alerted the ER Mark, they should be here soon.” Amanda butted in trying to calm the two Sloan men down a bit.

Mark gave her a look of annoyance; he then returned his attention to Steve.

“Then, Steve, go and guide them down here; the sooner, the better.” Steve tried to get a better look at Jesse, but Mark stood in front of him. “Please, do what I asked, ok, Son. We’ll take care of Jesse.”

“Right, I’m going, Dad,” Steve said and ran off.

“Dr. Sloan, how is he really?” Detective Trip asked.

“Not good, Detective Trip, he’s not good at all.”

Steve was back within a few minutes. By this time they had managed to get Jesse back to the car parking area. As soon as Jesse was loaded onto the gurney, he was rushed into the operating theatre. All they could do now was to wait and pray.


	8. Jesse’s Condition.

Mark, Amanda, Chief Masters and Captain Newman sat in the waiting room. Detective Trip was walking in and out talking on the phone and keeping everyone up dated with the news of what was happening. Steve was driving everyone mad; he had just about walked a hole in the floor, as he paced back and forth in the same place for the last five and a half hours. By this time the body count had reached forty and the suspect was still not talking. 

Detective Trip, for about the fifth time, walked into the room, but because he was on the phone he didn’t see Steve and they collided. Both men went crashing to the floor. Mark jumped up and went to Steve. Amanda went to Detective Trip.

“Steve, are you ok?” Mark asked and the lack of responds concerned him greatly. 

Detective Trip had gotten up and pick up his phone, but instead of saying anything, he, along with everyone else was just watching Mark with Steve. The scene was interrupted by a doctor walking in. He stood at the door, looking around the room and the people within. He finely found the person he was looking for, but was a little surprised to find Dr. Sloan on the floor.

“Dr. Sloan?”

“Dr. Mitchell, how is Dr. Travis?” Mark asked as he helped Steve up.

Dr. Mitchell looked at the other expected faces that were looking back at him.

“Umm, Dr. Sloan, can I talk to you alone, please?”

Now it was Mark’s turn to look at the group. He knew that they needed to know as well, but as he looked at Steve, he also knew that he wouldn’t be able to take it if it was bad news. Turning back to Dr. Mitchell, Mark nodded.

“Yes, Dr. Mitchell, you can.”

“But, Dad,” Steve said grabbing Mark’s arm.

Mark turned to Steve and placed a gentle hand onto his shoulder. Mark took a deep breath and looked Steve straight in his eyes. “Steve, I know you want to know how Jesse is, but let me go and find out first, ok.”

“But, Dad, I...” Steve dropped his eyes to the floor. “Ok, I’ll wait.”

“Good, Steve.” Mark laid a gentle hand on his son’s arm. I’ll be back soon.” 

With that the two doctors walked out and up the hall to an empty room. They entered and Mark closed the door behind him. 

“I think you better sit down, Mark,” Dr. Mitchell said a weary sound to him voice.

“Just be straight with me, Tom, how is Jesse?”

“Not good. Jesse has burns to his arms, hands and feet. He also has bites and tears to his arms and face from the dog attack, as well as a large loss of blood. We’ve done all we can for now, and you know the procedure, we just have to wait and see if he will make it through the next forty-eight hours.”

“That bad, huh?” 

“It could be worse; we’re waiting for test results on the dog.”

“For rabies?”

“Yes.”

“When will someone be able to see him?”

“As long as there is only one person in there at the time, or you and one other person, I should say, you can go and see him in about half an hour.”

“Thank you, Tom.” Mark shook his hand, opened the door and walked out. The doctors then walked off in different direction. 

As Mark walked into the room, he was met by five people. All had concern on their faces, all wanting answers. But the biggest shock was when Steve spoke.

“Jesse’s not going to make it is he, Dad?” 

“Of course Jesse’s going to be ok, Steve. You know in these situations that we need to wait and see how he goes over the next forty-eight hours. They’re also waiting for test results on the dog for rabies. But otherwise, he’s doing well and there was no mention about having to shock him.”

“Did Dr. Mitchell say what had happen to Dr. Travis?” asked Chief Masters.

“Yes, Jesse has burns to his feet, hands and arms. He also had a lot of blood loss from the dog attack, which had bitten him all over his arms and face.”

“So Jesse will need skin grafts, Mark?” Amanda asked.

“He might, we will just have to wait and see. Do we know who the man standing over him is?”

“Yes, his name is...Luke, Mr. Luke Gruff,” answered Detective Trip.

“What, one of our orderlies?” Amanda said 

“I’m afraid so.”

“But why did he do it?” asked Steve

“We’re not sure, he won’t talk to us and the body count keeps growing.”

“Let me deal with him, I’ll get him to talk,” Steve said, his voice full of hate.

“I think your time would be better used in Jesse’s room talking to him. Telling him to fight and come back to us, don’t you think, Steve?”

“I can go and see him?”

“Soon, Dr. Mitchell said he’ll come and get us when we can. I’m allowed in the room at all times, but one other person will also be allowed as well. I think that person should be Steve.”

“I agree, Dr. Sloan,” Chief Masters said.

“Thank you, Dad.”

“No problems, Steve, I think you’re the only one who will be able to talk Jesse into not leaving us,” Mark said smiling at Steve. 

The only problem is Mark didn’t realise how deep the problem with Steve was. Even though the words weren’t the same, they had the same effect and Steve was out the door, heading for the toilets. By the time Mark had found him, Steve was head down in the toilet.

“Steve, I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok, Dad. I just, I don’t know how I’m going to cope if Jesse doesn’t make it. Dad, it was my fault.”

“Steve, we’ve already gone over this. It is not your fault. Now, are you ready to see him, or do you want Amanda to go in with me?”

“No, I want to be there for him. Dad, you know, in the tape when Jesse and I were sitting in my truck?”

“Yes, Steve,” Mark replied as he watched Steve go to the wash basin.

“Well, we, we had managed to talk on our way in and well, we were kissing.”

“So you and Jesse had gotten together?”

“I honestly don’t know. Jesse and I were going to dinner tonight and we were going to talk then.”

“Well, Jesse might not be able to talk back to you Steve, but if you tell him how you really feel, it might give him a reason to fight.”

“Ok, Dad, I’ll try, so, when can we...”

“Now. Dr Mitchell came in just after you left, so shall we go.”

“Yes, let’s go.”

With that Mark and Steve walked towards Jesse’s room.


	9. Back from the Brink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting, I've had trouble with my computer and haven't been about to access my files.

Jesse was afraid. He had been wandering around in the fog for what seemed like hours. He was tired, but for some reason he had a feeling that if he sat down he would never get back up. Just as he made up his mind to try another way, he could hear a voice calling his name. 

“Jesse.”

Steve had stood at the door of Jesse’s room for about fifteen minutes before he got the nerve to enter. Jesse was laying there connected to wires and tubes to monitor every bodily function you could imagine. How Jesse looked was what shocked Steve the most. His face was swollen, with cuts and stiches everywhere; his arms were lying on top of the blankets and they too were covered in bites that had been stitched up, some were covered, others were left open. He sat down and took one of Jesse’s bandaged hands and carefully rubbed his thumb over the only little bit skin that was exposed.

“Jesse,” he whispered.

“Who’s there?” Jesse cried out as he couldn’t see anyone.

At first there was no answer, just the fog and silence. Then Jesse saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning towards the movement, a shadowy figure came into view.

“Who are you?” Jesse asked with a shaky voice.

“Don’t you know?” the voice came with a smug reply.

“No, no, not you, oh god, not you,” Jesse cried as he recognised The Voice. He tried to run, but found that his feet were stuck to the floor.

“No one came, Dr. Travis. No one found you; you’re still mine.”

“No, I don’t believe you,” Jesse screamed at the shadow. Then behind him, he heard a low growl. Finding he could turn, he came face to face with the dog. Again he tried to run and again he found he could not move from that spot. The fear inside him started to grow, so did the feeling that the voice was right and no one had come looking for him; not even Steve.

Just as he was about to give up and lay down, a third shadow appeared, unlike the voice and dog, which was surrounded by the fog, this one had a warm light shining behind it. This one just stood there looking at him. It wasn’t as close as the others and it actually seemed scared to come any closer. Yet there was a familiar, safe feeling about this one. The feeling made him want to run to it, not from it; then another warm feeling hit him from behind.

Turning, the only thing he saw was a warm glowing light.

“Dr. Travis, come to me,” the voice called out.

“Dr. Jesse Travis, it is time to rest.” A soft gentle voice came from the light.

“No, come and play with me,” growled the dog.

“Jesse, I’m sorry I left you. Please don’t leave me.” The soft voice hit him from behind. It was so sad, almost crying. The shadow that was standing away from him had finely come closer. It was Steve. But he looked so heartbroken.

“Jesse, I’m sorry I left you. Please don’t leave me,” Steve nearly cried into his chest. Tears were flowing down his cheeks, but he didn’t care, all he cared about was Jesse and the hope he would wake up.

“Jesse, I know I failed you and I will understand if you don’t want anything to do with me again. But please, don’t leave us. Dad and Amanda need you, Jesse, we all do, Jesse, we all do.”

“I know you can fight this, I know you’re strong enough to come back to us. But you need to want to come back as well and if I’m the reason you don’t want to come back, don’t worry. I’ll leave, I’ll get a transfer away from here, as far as I can, just don’t leave us.”

Jesse listened to Steve pour out his heart and it was causing his own to break. Jesse wanted to run to Steve, to grab on to him and hold him tight, to be able to kiss the life out of him. But he still couldn’t move.

“Told you, I told you that he didn’t want you, Dr. Travis. After all he said he would leave if you went back to them.” The Voice sneered at him.

“No, he didn’t; Steve said he was willing to leave if I wanted him to,” Jesse screamed at The Voice’s shadow. With every word he spoke, Jesse took a step closer to the shadow. “He loves me and I know Steve would do anything for me. Even give up his life, for me.” As Jesse’s anger grew and the closer he got, the smaller the shadow got. By the time he had actually reached the shadow it was just about gone, so Jesse stepped on it.

Jesse felt a great weight lift from his shoulders and he didn’t feel quite so tired now. Just as he turned around the dog flew at him, knocking him to the ground. Off to the side he could still hear Steve talking.

“Please, Jesse, whatever is keeping you from coming back to us, fight it. Don’t let it keep you down, away from where you want to be. I know you can fight it, I believe in you.”

These were the words Jesse needed, he felt his strength returning and he used it to grab the dog around the throat. Lifting it up and pushing it to the side, Jesse managed to get up off the ground. Holding the dog by the collar and away from him, Jesse threw it towards the light and once they touched they both disappeared. Jesse turned around; the only thing left now was Steve and him.

He slowly started to move towards Steve who was just standing there looking at him. Steve looked more tired than usual. Just as Jesse reached him, Steve started to disappear. Jesse could see his eyes were closing and in his fog filled mind Jesse knew that Steve was falling asleep. In desperation Jesse grabbed Steve’s hand.

Exhaustion had started to overtake Steve. As he was talking to Jesse, his eyes were getting heavier and heavier. Finely his head was lying on the bed beside Jesse. He still held Jesse’s hand but as sleep took over their hands started to move apart.

Steve sat up suddenly, looking around. Something had brought him out of his pre sleep state. But he wasn’t sure what it was.

“Steve, is everything ok?” Mark asked walking up to his son, very concerned with the way he had suddenly moved.

“I, I don’t know, Dad. I just...” Steve felt a squeeze on his hand. Looking down he realised that Jesse was holding his hand, not him holding Jesse’s. Looking back up, he looked at Jesse face. “Jesse?”

Mark had followed Steve’s eyes. Jesse lay there looking up at them. Mark instantly pressed the call button. The nurse walked in to see what they wanted, but Mark didn’t give her a chance to ask. “Get Dr. Mitchell, Dr. Travis is awake.” 

The nurse took one look at Jesse, nodded and walked out again.

“Jesse, take it easy. You’re safe now,” Mark said to his friend.

Jesse carefully nodded his head at Mark and then looked at Steve. He could see the tear marks on Steve’s face, as well as fear in his eyes; giving Steve’s hand another squeeze, Jesse tried to tell him it was going to be ok. Just then Dr. Mitchell walked in and seeing that Jesse was awake, he asked Mark and Steve to please leave while he examined Jesse. Mark took Steve’s arm and led him from the room.

“Don’t worry, Steve; it looks like Jesse is going to be ok,” Mark said trying to comfort his son.

Steve could only look at the closing door that was between him and Jesse.


	10. A New Start

Steve sat at his desk doing paper work. It had been four months since he was put on suspension and two months since that suspension had been lifted. So for the past two months he had been confined to desk duty, but to be honest... he was just grateful that he still had his job. 

He tried once again to read the form that was in front of him, but his eyes wandered over to the clock. Jesse was coming home today; or rather, to the spare room at the beach house. Mark had taken time off to look after Steve and now Jesse. There was still a half an hour to go before he could leave, so he was surprised when he was called into the Chief’s office. 

“Chief, you wanted to see me?” 

Chief Masters looked up at Steve. “Yes, Sloan, please sit down.” 

Steve took a seat in front of the Chief’s desk and waited. He was surprised when the door opened again and Detective Trip walked in. He nodded at Steve and then sat down beside him. The Chief looked at them both.

“Sloan, I know you want to get back out there full time, but I still don’t know if we can trust you just yet,” Chief Masters said. “But, with saying that, I think it’s time you did get back out there, so I’m putting you with Detective Trip. He will be in charge of you until further notice.”

Steve looked at Trip and then back at the Chief. “Thank you, sir.”

“Now, Detective Trip was on his way to the hospital to let Dr. Travis, Dr. Bentley and your father, know the results of the case against Mr. Gruff. We thought you might want to be there as well.”

“Yes, thank you, Chief; I would like to be there,” Steve said very relieved.

“Ok. Detective Trip, I would like to speak to Detective Sloan, alone, for a moment please?”

“Yes sir.” and with that Detective Trip left the office.

Steve was now nervous, what could the Chief want to talk to him about.

“Sloan, I am giving you back your gun.” He placed Steve’s gun on the table, but Steve didn’t move to take it. “Please don’t let me regret my decision and if you ever point a gun at me again, I will not hesitate to order them out there, to shoot you. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir, and with respect sir, I’m surprised that you didn’t do it that day.” 

“I was going to, but you collapsed before I could. Now get going and check with Detective Trip as to when he wants you back in the morning.”

“Yes sir.” Steve got up to leave, but as he opened the door the Chief called him back.

“Sloan!” he barked, Steve turned around to face him. “Haven’t you forgotten something?” he said looking down at the gun on his desk.

“Sorry, Chief, I guess, I’m not use to carrying anymore.” A very sheepish Steve walked over and picked up his gun. He then hurried out the door and back to his desk. 

Just as Steve sat down, Detective Trip walked over. He watched as Steve looked over his gun.

“Feels strange having it back after all these months, doesn’t it?” he said trying to start a conversation.

“Yeah, it does.” Steve put the gun into its holster, and then he looked up at Trip. “The Chief said I needed to check with you about when you want me in tomorrow morning.” He said as he started to pack up the paper work he had been working on earlier to take home with him.

“How about nine, it will give me a chance to work out what we’re going to do.”

Steve nodded slightly. “Ok, so are you ready to go to the hospital yet?” Steve asked hoping to leave soon. 

“Yes I am; are you, Sloan?” 

“I guess so. I just want to see Jesse.” Steve put the paper work into his case. “Well, let’s go.”

At the hospital, Jesse was packing his bags. He was really looking forward to staying at the Sloan’s beach house and for Mark to look after him. Mark was like the father he never had. Even though his own father was in his life now, they still had a strained relationship.

The other bonus was that Steve would be there. Over the last few months Jesse had learned the truth about how much those words had affected Steve and how much out of control he had become because of them. Over the last two months, both he and Steve had been working together with Dr. John to try and help Steve get over his problem. And it seemed to be working as Steve was back on duty. Now Jesse wanted to work on his and Steve’s relationship.

He was thinking so hard about this, he had stopped packing his bag and had failed to notice Mark and Amanda walking in. From their view all they could see was Jesse standing over his bag looking at it. Concerned, Mark walked up to Jesse and put his hand on his shoulder.

“Jesse, is anything wrong?”

“What? Oh, no, everything’s fine, Mark, I was just thinking, that’s all,” Jesse said a bit surprised.

“Do you need a hand with anything?” 

“No, no thank you, Amanda. I need to do things on my own if I’m ever going to get back to work,” He noticed Amanda flinch a little at the sight of his face and he couldn’t blame her.

Most of the wounds had healed, but there were still a few scars present. He was lucky though as most of the wounds were on his arms and in the end, they weren’t too deep or large. He had only had to have a few skin grafts, but they were more for the burns then the dog bites. So over all, he was doing well. In fact, compared to Steve, he came off a lot better. After all, physical wounds heal a lot quicker then emotional ones do.

“Sorry, Amanda, if my trophies upset you,” Jesse said with a smile on his face.

“Trophies?” Both Mark and Amanda said together.

“Yeah, my scars; I call them my trophies. They’re proof I survived a mad man and a mad dog attack.” What he hadn’t said was that he was planning to get a special treatment which will help the scars to fade but he needed to wait for a year first, as a lot of them might fade on their own.

“Well, Jesse, that’s one way to look at them,” Mark said proudly at Jesse’s attitude.

“Careful, Dad, you might do yourself some sort of injury puffing out your chest like that.” Steve’s voice come from the door way.

All three turned to look at a smiling Steve and a confused Detective Trip. They were all glad to see Steve smile again. It had been way to long and for Mark it also hurt. How could he have not seen that his son was hurting; the fact that Steve had stopped smiling should have been the biggest clue for him, but Mark, just hadn’t seen it.

“So, Jesse, you ready to leave yet?” asked Steve

“Just about...” Just then Jesse noticed Steve was wearing a gun. “Steve! You’ve got your gun back. Does that mean your back on full duty?”

“No,” Steve said looking down at the floor. “I’m...”

“He will be working with me for awhile, until the Chief thinks he’s totally ready to be on his own.” 

“Ok, sorry, I didn’t...”

“It’s ok, Jesse. I’m the one who pulled a gun on the Chief and threaten to kill him. I can’t expect him to trust me again, or at least not straight away. At least he gave me my gun back.” 

“You and I really need to talk, Son.”

“Yes, dad,” Steve said shyly. “Anyway, Detective Trip is here to let you know how the case was going.”

“Really, I thought...” 

“You thought we were going to keep you out of the loop, Dr. Travis?” asked Detective Trip.

“Yes,” came the reply from Amanda, Jesse and Mark.

“Well, we’re not; unless of course, you don’t want to know.”

“Yes, we do.” 

“Why don’t you all sit down and I’ll tell you what’s going on.” Once everyone was seated the detective continued. “As you know, the man we found over you was an orderly from the hospital by the name of Luke Gruff. He had worked at the hospital for about twenty years.”

“That’s right; he’s been here for twenty two years,” Mark confirmed.

“Well, his DNA is all over the rooms, as well as some of the victim’s and in the bandages that were over your hands. He has also confessed to taking the victims. But he won’t tell us why.”

“How many victims were there?” Jesse asked quietly

There was three hundred and twenty two, last count.”

“Last count, what do you mean, last count?” Steve queried

“During the search they found another two rooms full of bodies. It looks like he had taken more than we first thought and sometimes more than one at a time. Dr. Travis, you’ll be glad to know that because he has confessed, you won’t need to go to court.”

“Thank you.” 

“Well, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you at nine tomorrow, Detective Sloan.”

“Right, see you tomorrow,” Steve said as he watched the other detective leave the room. He turned back to Jesse. “Now, let’s gets you home, Jesse.”

“Yeah, home; yours and Mark’s home,” Jesse said with a sad smile.

“NO, JESSE! It is your home, too,” Mark said with a firm voice.

“Yes, Mark.”

An hour later Steve walked through the door of the beach house. He put Jesse’s bags down in the lounge room and while he waited for his dad and Jesse to come in, he put the kettle on. By the time Jesse was sitting on the couch, Steve had made them all a drink and had joined them.

“So, Jesse,” Mark asked pointedly, “where are you sleeping?”

Jesse looked at Mark, a bit confused. As far as he knew he was sleeping in the spare room. 

“I thought I was in the spare room.”

“And I thought you would be staying with Steve,” Mark said looking at his son

“I thought Jesse would be better in the spare room at the moment, instead of trying to get up and down the stairs.” 

“Oh, I just thought that you and Jesse might have wanted to be together, that’s all.” 

“We hadn’t really talked about that, whether Jesse even wants to be with me,” Steve said sadly.

“Of course, I want to be with you, Steve. I thought you didn’t want me.” 

“Ok, well I’m going to go and started dinner; you two can work it out.” Mark got up and went into the kitchen.

“Jesse, I...I want to be with you for the rest of my life if I can, but I don’t want to push you.”

“Same here, Steve, but you’re right; I won’t be able to handle the stairs yet. But would you consider move into the spare room with me until I can?”

“Yes, oh yes, Jesse, I will.” Steve leaned in and kissed him.

Mark was watching this scene from the kitchen and shook his head. “Looks like I’ll have another one calling me dad soon,” he thought. But Mark was happy for them; it looks like they’re going to be ok. 

THE END


End file.
